Namibia: Wendelinus Fights for Crown

THE suspended Mr Gay Namibia, Wendelinus Hamutenya, says he will not go down without a fight.

In fact, he plans to approach the High Court with an urgent application.

According to Hamutenya, he wants to ask the court to either force the organisers of the Mr Gay Namibia competition to lift his suspension or to force them to postpone the event planned for Friday.

He said he was waiting for documents from South Africa about the domestic violence case which he is allegedly facing there to finalise his plan of action.

Hamutenya, the first-ever Mr Gay Namibia, earlier this year represented the country at the Mr Gay World pageant in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Chris de Villiers, one of the organisers of the pageant, yesterday said they would not bow to Hamutenya’s pressure. “He must go to the High Court and ask them to do that. We didn’t act outside our rules. It was a legitimate way to do it.”

De Villiers said the organisers would not be scared by what Hamutenya had to say.

Asked whether they planned to oppose the intended urgent application, De Villiers said they would first want to see the court documents. “We just responded to information in our possession.”

De Villiers on Saturday announced that Hamutenya would not be allowed to hand over the crown when a new Mr Gay Namibia is chosen on Friday.

Three contestants have entered for the pageant, De Villiers confirmed yesterday.

On Sunday, De Villiers said: “It has come to the attention of the Mr Gay Namibia organisation that Mr Wendelinus Hamutenya, the former title holder of the Mr Gay Namibia 2011 title, is accused of unbecoming conduct. Due to the gravity of the accusations against him the Mr Gay Namibia organisation had no alternative but to suspend him with immediate effect on November 24 2012, pending the outcome of the investigation.”

Hamutenya apparently has a domestic violence case pending against him in Johannesburg for which he needs to appear in court again on Thursday.

As a result of his suspension, Hamutenya has “no representative capacity and may not provide any interviews, nor any media statements with regard to, or on behalf, of Mr Gay Namibia”, De Villiers said.

De Villiers said last year’s runner-up, Herman Feddersen, would represent the Mr Gay Namibia organisation at this year’s event and hand over the title to the winner.

Hamutenya on Sunday accused the organisers of wanting to sabotage his projects. “I’m very disappointed in them,” he said.

Asked about the allegations of domestic violence, he said: “There was something like that, but it was later withdrawn.”

In a statement, the organisers of Mr Gay Namibia say that the pageant’s mission “is to create a positive image of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and to promote a Namibian society where all people are accepted as human beings with equal importance”.

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